Chapter 11: Little Miracles

After she had happily accepted Tracey's marriage proposal, Carla was in the kitchen with Delia helping her clean up in the kitchen. She had insisted that she wanted to help even though Delia told her that she could handle it. This left Tracey in the kitchen talking to Professor Oak.

"Congratulations again, Tracey. So when did you decide that you were going to propose to Carla?"

"Thanks. I actually bought the ring a couple weeks ago and I had planned to pop the question to her the day we left for Pinkin Island but my dad called and told me that my mom was on her death bed so I had to put it on hold. Then when Carla spent so much time these past few days being so devoted to me and my situation, it only solidified my decision." Tracey explained.

"Well, it is a very wonderful thing that has happened. I still remember the day that I proposed to Delia. Wait, Tracey, shouldn't you call your family and let them know that you're engaged?" Professor Oak pointed out.

"Yeah, I should. That's a good point. I'm sure that they'd like to know. I'll go call them right now. I'll be back in a minute." Tracey smiled as he turned and left the room. As Tracey was leaving, Professor Oak noticed that he looked as if he were walking in the clouds.

Tracey walked into the lab to the telephone and dialed the number to his childhood home. After about three rings, his sister answered the phone.

"Hello."

"Hi, squirt." Tracey teased as Evelyn beamed at the recognition of who was on the phone.

"Hi, Tracey. What are you doing?"

"Not a lot. I just finished breakfast. I know it's early but are Dad and Bobby around?"

"Yeah. Bobby's in his room listening to music on the radio and Daddy's right here in the living room."

"Can you get them to come to the phone with you? I have something very important that I would like to tell all of you."

"Okay. Here, talk to Daddy a minute while I go get Bobby." Evelyn said as she ran down the hall and turned the phone over to her father.

"Hello, Tracey. How are things?" Ray asked casually.

"I'm getting better by the day. I've had a lot of support. Actually something happened this morning that made things so much better." Tracey smiled.

"Well what is this fantastic thing? We could use a little bit of good news around here."

"I want to wait to tell you until the kids get back."

"Here we are." Bobby yelled as he and Evelyn darted back into view. "Hi, Tracey."

"Hey, Bobby. Now I can tell you my good news. Do you guys remember my girlfriend Carla who was with me when I was there?" Everyone nodded. "Well she's going to be a part of our family now. Carla and I got engaged this morning. In fact it was just a few minutes ago."

"Wow. Congratulations, Tracey. I'm very proud of you, son." Ray smiled.

"I'm going to have a sister-in-law now!" Evelyn exclaimed.

"This is so cool! My big brother's getting married." Bobby laughed.

"Thanks guys. I knew you needed some good news so I thought I'd call and tell you that. How are things going there?" Tracey asked as Evelyn and Bobby left the phone and went running down the hall celebrating.

"Things have been really hard here. I think this morning is the first time I've seen Evey smile since your mother died. I still can't believe she's really gone."

"Things are the same for me. At least I'm not having the nightmares anymore. I actually got a good night's sleep last night. Listen, Dad, I'm going to have to get off here because I need to get to work. I promise I'll call again really soon."

"Okay. I'm very happy for you and Carla. Also I'm glad you called. I love you, Tracey." Ray said.

"I love you, too. Tell the kids I love them a lot and I'll try to put them in my wedding if I can."

"I will. Bye, Tracey."

"Bye, Dad."

* * * * *

Carla and Delia were just coming out of the kitchen as Tracey arrived back in the dining room. Carla immediately came to meet her fiancé at the door and put her arms around him.

"Now where did you run off to?" Carla asked as she gave Tracey a kiss.

"Actually I went to call my family and tell them the good news. They were excited and very happy for us. Plus my dad said that they needed some good news after all that's happened." Tracey explained.

"I'm glad that you got the chance to talk to your family too. I'm sure they enjoyed talking to you."

"Not as much as I enjoyed talking to them. I think I'm just realizing how much I missed by not being in their lives all these years. I'm glad that everything is working out for the better."

Just then the phone in the lab began ringing. It seemed strange that someone would be calling at seven in the morning.

"I wonder who that could be." Professor Oak said.

"I'll go find out." Delia said as she turned and went to answer the telephone.

* * * * *

"Hello."

"Mom. I'm glad I got someone. I was beginning to think that no one was there." Ash said as soon as Delia answered.

"Ash. What is it, honey? What's wrong?" Delia was now somewhat startled.

"Nothing's wrong exactly. It's just that you need to hurry to Viridian hospital if you want to see your first grandchild be born. Misty's in labor."

"Oh my gosh. We'll leave right now. We'll bring Tracey and Carla with us."

"Good idea. I've called Brock and Angelica and they're already on their way as well. I tried to call you guys first but I got a busy signal."

"Okay. We'll see you in about thirty minutes, Ash. I love you." Delia said excitedly.

"I love you, too. See you soon." Ash said as he cut the connection. As soon as she got off the phone, Delia went running back into the dining room.

"Who was on the phone, Delia?" Professor Oak asked.

"It was Ash. We have to get to Viridian City right away. Misty's in labor and having the baby today."

"Okay. Let's get going." Carla said.

"I'm going to bring my movie camera so I can make a video of the birth." Tracey said, racing to get his camera from the hall closet.

A few minutes later they were ready to go and all piled into the car and took off on the thirty-minute drive to the hospital.

* * * * *

Meanwhile, in her room at the Viridian City hospital, Misty was spending time with Ash. She had just gotten an epidural and wasn't in pain anymore.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Mist. So I guess this is it. We're going to be parents probably today." Ash said.

"Yeah. It may be late tonight when I have the baby because when the doctor checked me last time she said I was only 2 centimeters but now that I have my epidural I won't be in any pain and I can handle it." Misty smiled as she took Ash's hand and squeezed it.

"Pika pikachu, Pikachupi. Pi pika pikachu pika." (You're strong, Misty. You can do it.) Pikachu said from his usual perch on Ash's shoulder.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Pikachu. I really appreciate it."

"Pi pikachu." (You're welcome.)

Twenty minutes later, they were surprised when Carla poked her head in the door. It was more of a surprise that she was alone and no one else was with her.

"Hey, Carla. Where's everyone else?" Ash asked.

"They sent me in to tell you that they're parking and that they need to get some things out of the car. That's why Tracey isn't with me." Carla explained.

"That's actually good because I have been doing a lot of thinking and I wanted to ask you about something. Hopefully you can help me." Misty said.

"I'll do what I can. Ask away."

"Well, we heard that Tracey lost his mother a few days ago and that it's been hard for him. What I was wondering was if you heard Tracey's mother's name?"

"You're in luck. I can answer that. I was talking to Tracey's father and he happened to mention to me that his mother's name was Aurora." Carla answered.

"That's a beautiful name. The reason that I wanted to know that is because we're having a little girl and we couldn't think of a name for her. When I heard that Tracey's mother died I thought that it would be nice to name the baby after her." Misty explained and Ash nodded in agreement.

"I think that is a beautiful idea."

"Mind if we crash the party?" Tracey said as he poked his head in the door, followed by Delia and Professor Oak.

"Of course not. Come on in."

"What were you guys talking about?" Delia asked.

"Not a lot, Mom. Just exchanging pleasantries really." Misty fibbed.

"How are you doing, Misty?"

"I'm doing a lot better now that I had an epidural. I'm not in pain anymore."

Forty-five minutes later, the doctor came back to check Misty again. This was an uncomfortable procedure but fortunately it didn't last very long. Misty hoped that she had made some progress.

"Well, Misty. You're progressing very well. You've gone from 2 to 6 centimeters in an hour and a half. If you keep this up, you'll be ready to push within a couple of hours." The nurse said.

"Yeah! This is great. It won't be long now." Ash smiled as soon as the nurse had left the room.

"Have you got a name picked out for the baby yet?" Tracey asked.

"We do, but we want to keep it under wraps until she's born." Misty announced, giving Carla a glance that told her to play dumb.

* * * * *

A short time later, Brock and Angelica arrived. They had brought Gary with them since he had been in their area at a conference.

"Hey, did we miss the show? I just saw a doctor leave." Brock asked.

"Nope. No show just yet. But the doctor said it might be within a couple of hours. I'm already 6 centimeters."

"That's really awesome progress. I remember when my nephew was born, my sister was in labor for 10 hours. You've been in labor for three and a half hours and you're already close to the end." Angelica pointed out.

"Which reminds me, we all came bearing gifts for the new baby. Here's something from Delia and I." Professor Oak said as he handed Misty a large teddy bear.

"Now this is something that you can use to hear when the baby wakes up to be fed in the night." Tracey said. He and Carla had gone and gotten Ash and Misty a pair of baby radios.

"Misty was just saying the other day that we needed a pair of these." Ash smiled.

"What I have is something that I hope the baby can use for many years. That's why it's a little large. I made this by hand." Angelica said. She had crocheted a beautiful white blanket for the baby.

"This is absolutely gorgeous. I would never have been able to do that." Misty gasped as Angelica handed the blanket to her.

"I found this at a little store in Pewter City that sells Pokemon stuffed animals. This way she can have a Pikachu until you catch her a live one." Brock joked. His gift to the baby was a cute stuffed Pikachu.

"I got you a little something simple but it's something you can enjoy for many years." Gary said as he handed Misty a beautiful pink baby book.

"Thank you all for these beautiful gifts. This baby girl is very lucky to have an extended family that loves her so much and she isn't even here yet." Misty said with tears in her eyes.

"Yeah. This little girl will be set for a while." Ash agreed.

* * * * *

An hour and a half later the doctor came back to check Misty again. When she finished it was obvious that the labor was over.

"Well, Misty. You're complete now and it's time to start pushing. This baby is about to be born. Okay, when you have your next contraction you're going to start pushing. What I want you to do is take a deep breath normally, then take another breath, hold it and push down as hard as you can. If you do that then this won't take very long at all."

"I can do that." Misty paused for a moment. "Oh. I think it's time."

* * * * *

Ten minutes later the pushing was over and Ash and Misty had a beautiful, healthy baby girl. Ash even cut the umbilical cord. The baby weighed in at 7 pounds, 8 ounces.

"So, have you decided what you're going to name this little cutie?" Brock asked as the nurse handed the baby to Misty.

"Actually we have. I've been giving it a whole lot of thought and we decided on her name today."

"Yeah, and looking at her I'd say the name fits." Ash agreed.

"Well, don't keep us in the dark. Tell us what you've decided to name her." Gary said anxiously.

"Okay. Her name is Aurora Marie Ketchum." Misty announced as Tracey practically dropped the movie camera he was holding.

"Are you okay, Trace?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. It's just that Aurora was my mother's name."

"We know that. I asked Carla earlier. We heard that you lost your mother and it's obvious that she meant a lot to you and we thought that we would honor her by giving our daughter her name. Would you like to hold her?" Misty said.

"Of course. Actually there is some other exciting news today." Tracey said with tears of gratitude in his eyes as he took the baby in his arms. "Look, she's smiling."

"Ha. That means she likes you, Tracey. So what's this exciting news that you have?" Brock asked.

"Well, this news is the silver lining on a dark cloud for me. This morning Carla and I made a very big decision in our lives. We decided that we're going to get married." Tracey smiled as he handed Aurora back to Misty when she began to get fussy.

"Wow! That's fantastic news." Gary said.

"Yeah, I can't believe you guys are engaged." Angelica smiled.

"I was wondering if you guys were ever going to move forward. Seriously though, congratulations." Brock joked.

"Hey, I just realized something." Tracey said.

"What's that, Tracey?" Misty asked.

"That, if you know where to look for them, life is full of lot of little miracles." Tracey announced as he smiled down at the baby girl, who shared his late mother's name, sleeping in Misty's arms.